Walking on the road to Chaquijyá, Guatemala

This year, in order to further our understanding of global hunger, the Program Directors at all three MPI sites participated in the 30-hour fast organized by World Vision International. Though allowed to consume fruit juice, we were highly encouraged to not consume solid foods or coffee (eek!) from 1:00pm this past Thursday until 7:00pm the following Friday. In addition to the fast, PD’s also participated in service activities organized through their respective sites, and discussions concerning our personal sentiments regarding the fast. In Guatemala, we began our fast with an hour of service at a local feeding program and then conducted dialogues in house and with the Ecuador PDs via Skype. The fast was both physically and emotionally taxing, but we all persevered and I believed that we learned a great deal from the experience.

To be honest, when I first learned about the fast, I was not crazy about it for numerous reasons. Primarily, any given day, I probably spend more time eating than not, and I was not sold on the idea of forgoing food for an entire 30 hours. Additionally, I felt several moral qualms on the matter. Who were we to expect that a mere day-long fast would allow us to empathize with the suffering and turmoil of hunger victims? Watching movies on laptops, drinking clean water, and cozily sitting in our warm beds, we would be surrounded by numerous luxuries and we would have a kitchen stocked with food in case of emergency. We would begin the fast with the assurance of copious amounts of food in 30 hours and we would never suffer the anxiety of wondering the source of our next meal.

The fast also did not touch me initially at a personal level, as our physical experience of hunger could never resemble the experiences of the hungry in Chaquijyá. Many residents of Chaquijyá suffer from chronic hunger. While many of them may only eat one meal a day, they do eat. Our experience would more closely resemble the acute hunger of victims of natural disasters or war, whose food sources become cut off very suddenly. Like I said, there were numerous reasons. Overall, it seemed to me that our experience would not remotely resemble those lived by the impoverished, and I was hesitant to believe that the fast would affect my perspectives in working with the community members of Chaquijyá.

Having successfully completed the fast, I cannot say if the experience will affect how I make my lesson plans or teach my classes in Chaquijyá, but I can say that the fast did prove to be more enlightening than I had expected. Namely, even if the fast did not radically change my thoughts on world hunger, the experience did stimulate me to think. Though the fast was not “authentic” per say, hunger dominated my thoughts for 30 hours and compelled me to ask to ask more profound questions about myself and the larger issue. Indeed, I realized that is impossible for me to fathom the experience of chronic hunger. This realization excited in me both a rush of gratitude for the numerous blessings I am fortunate to enjoy, and also a larger appreciation for the resilience of people suffering from hunger. All over the world, people who survive on minimal food still work and struggle to support families. Often the most impoverished people possess the most physically taxing jobs, and millions of hungry people toil each day all the while still nourishing love for their families, religious beliefs, and/or inner determination.

I am so grateful for the smack-in-face, out-of-the-comfort-zone experience that was the fast. Sometimes I need a shock to my system to make me open my eyes and see the world around me more clearly. Global hunger is truly a world issue that cannot be fixed in a flash by one organization or government. Whether through monetary donations, volunteering, or spreading awareness, all of us must find our own ways to contribute to the struggle to insure food security for our fellow humans.

Ginny just finished a thirteen-month commitment as Program Director with Manna Project International-Guatemala and is returning to Guatemala to seek out other opportunities. For more on Ginny’s experiences in Guatemala, check out her blog.

6th grade students at a graduation ceremony in Proyecto Semilla, a school for child workers in Panajachel, Guatemala

At least, that’s the idea driving Mil Milagros, a Boston-based non-governmental organization operating in four schools around the tourist town of Panajachel in Guatemala.  Mil Milagros feeds around 600 students every day for the cost of about $1.20 per child; by feeding children a hot lunch in school, they ensure that children will finish primary school.

According to Guatemalan government statistics, 56% of the population lives in poverty and only 30% of the children in Guatemala complete sixth grade. Among Mayan girls, 79% do not finish primary school.  A recent article in The Economist put child malnutrition statistics around 80% in parts of rural Guatemala where the population is predominantly indigenous. Mil Milagros, however, believes the percentage to be much higher.

Mil Milagro’s mission is  to improve the health, well-being, and educational outcomes of children in Guatemala. High aspirations, but they fall in line with the United Nations’ equally ambitious UN Development Goals to achieve universal primary education and end poverty and childhood hunger by 2015. Mil Milagros is working to make these ideals a reality.  With day-to-day operations run almost entirely by their Guatemalan staff, Mil Milagros currently provides hot lunches to each school, nutrition classes to mothers, teaching seminars to teachers, and school supplies as well as dental and hygiene products to the students of four schools in the municipality of Sololá.

The success of Mil Milagros’ programs comes from their emphasis on strong partnerships and active participation of the teachers, parents, and students. The school of Chichimuch in Santa Lucia Utatlan serves as a glowing example: hot lunches are prepared everyday by a team of five mothers, each serving a voluntary shift every 20 or so days. While currently the hot lunches are dependent on funding provided by Mil Milagros, the community is already launching innovative fundraising programs. Last year the school purchased 140 chicks, one for every student. The children raised the chicks and after only a month the school was able to resell them, doubling their financial capital and fostering horticultural skills in the students. The schools seek to expand such programs to include school gardens and similar livestock projects.

Not only do these homegrown initiatives raise additional funds for the schools, they serve as incredible examples of capacity-building and sustainability through nonprofit work.

Kate Bennett is currently researching nonprofit effectiveness in Guatemala. For more about her experiences, check out her blog.

We believe that there’s no better way to expand the mind then through travel. Unfortunately – due to climate change – a lot of the most fascinating places on Earth may not be around for people to enjoy in the future. When we were in South America to do some volunteering, we had the chance to see Antarctica. It’s incredible! Let’s pay attention to climate change in order to make that experience possible for generations to come. Also, working to curb climate change helps to alleviate the grip that poverty and hunger have on communities around the world.

In honor of October 15th, Blog Action Day, we wanted to draw attention to what’s going on. Check out the Blog Action Day site here, where you’ll find lots of ways to get involved in order to be a part of positive change.